Speaking panel



June 23, 1936. TR Y 2,045,424

SPEAKING PANEL Filed July 15, 1955 2 Sheets- Sheet 2 A rroe/vsv Patented June 23, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

This invention relates to speaking panels intended for use in such institutions of confinement as jails, prisons, asylums, etc., to permit inmates of the institutions to see and converse with 5 visitors, the predominant object of the invention being to provide a speaking panel which is of such improved construction and arrangement that it is capable of performing its intended function in a more efficient manner than did the speaking panels heretofore known.

It is quite generally known to persons familiar with such matters that jails and prisons are usually equipped with devices known as speaking panels which permit inmates and their visitors to see and talk with each other while maintaining confinement of the inmates in enclosures separate from the enclosures in which the visitors are located. Ordinarily these speaking panels are set in solid walls which separate the visitors room from the confining enclosures for the inmates, it being common practice to provide a rather large room for the visitors in a wall of which is set a row of spaced speaking panels which communicate with one or more confining enclosures at the opposite side of the wall in which inmates receiving visitors are placed. Usually a speaking panel includes an opening for vision which is closed by a sheet of bullet-proof glass, and means of some sort for permitting passage of spoken sound from each side of the wall in which the speaking panel is set to the other side thereof.

With reference to the opening for vision, it is essential either that this opening of a speaking panel be of such size that a very small person may not escape therethrough or that the opening be protected by bars. Both of these arrangements are undesirable, inasmuch as openings of escapeproof size are not large enough to give a complete view of a face through the opening, and a barred opening adds to the expense of the structure. An

important feature of the improved speaking panel disclosed herein is that the opening for vision is of substantially diamond-shaped formation with the greatest dimensions of the opening extended horizontally and vertically. Also, the parts of the improved device into which persons at opposite sides thereof speak are so disposed with respect to the diamond-shaped opening for vision that the eyes of said persons when conversing are located at the greatest horizontal dimension of the opening, and with the entire lower portions of the faces of said persons clearly visible to each other through the lower portion of the opening which extends downwardly from said greater horizontal dimension. Thus by this arrangement a substantially full view of a face of a person may be had through an opening which is of escape-proof size.

Another important feature of this invention is that provision is made for maintaining the im- 5 proved speaking panel in an entirely sanitary condition. This is important, inasmuch as devices of the type disclosed herein might act as germ catchers and disease spreaders. In the use of the improved speaking panel disclosed herein, however, this danger is eliminated by providing means for maintaining the device in a sanitary condition at all times.

Another important feature of the invention is that the improved speaking panel has associated therewith an acoustical hood which serves to control sound at the speaking panel. This is extremely important where a number of rather closely spaced speaking panels are arranged in a row and when most of the speaking panels are being used. In such case the acoustical hood confines the sound of conversation to the speaking panel where such sound originates, and prevents interference between conversations at the various speaking panels.

Still another important feature of the invention is that the improved speaking panel disclosed herein includes an observation means through the use of which an authorized official or other person may view a prisoner through the vision opening of the improved device without himself beingobserved by the prisoner. This is important in cases where officers or witnesses wish to view a prisoner for purposes of identification without the prisoner knowing that he is being watched.

Fig. 1 is a, fragmentary front elevation of a wall having the improved speaking panel associated therewith.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section of the upper portion of the structure illustrated in Fig. 1, but with the observation means shown in a difierent position.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the speaking panel with the observation means shown in the position illustrated in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a vertical section on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

In the drawings, wherein is shown for the purpose of illustration, merely, one embodiment of the invention, A designates a wall which, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with an opening B formed therethrough. The improved speaking panel P is located at the opening B, and said speaking panel includes a metal plate I which is secured by rivets, welding, or otherwise, to the wall A. As will be observed in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, the plate I is substantially diamond-shaped, and said plate l has formed therethrough a substantially diamond-shaped opening 2, the opening B in the wall I also being of substantially diamondshaped formation.

Secured by rivets, welding, or otherwise to the plate I is a marginal element 3 which in crosssection has the shape illustrated in Fig. 2; that is to say, said element includes a portion 3 which is disposed parallel and in contact with the plate I, a portion 3 which extends outwardly from the portion 3 at the inner edge thereof, and a portion 3 which extends inwardly from the outer edge of said portion 3 in substantial parallelism relative to the plate i. As shown clearly in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, the marginal element 3 is of substantially diamond-shaped formation, and said marginal element embraces the correspondingly shaped openings 2 and B in the plate l and wall A, respectively. It is to be observed that the diamond-shaped plate I, the diamond-shaped marginal element 3, and the diamond-shaped openings 2 and B are disposed so that their greatest dimensions are extended horizontally and vertically.

Arranged at the lower portion of the marginal element 3 is a pair of associated members 4 which serve to produce the sound-conducting means of the improved speaking panel. These members are substantially wedge-shaped, as shown most clearly in Fig. 4, and marginal portions adjacent to the divergent side edges thereof are interposed between opposed portions of the portion 3 of the marginal element 3 and the plate l, as shown in Fig, 2. The inner faces of the members 4 contact with each other as shown at 5 in Fig. 2, and said members are provided with outwardly and upwardly extended hollow portions 6 which provide a more or less V-shaped, or wedge-shaped, sound-conducting cavity 1 (see Fig. 2). The top walls of the associated members 4 are recessed as indicated at 8, and when the members are in their assembled form said recesses provide a rectangular depression at the top of the sound-conducting means of the improved speaking panel. At opposite sides of the top portion of the sound-conducting means of the speaking panel walls 8 are provided. These walls are inclined downwardly and outwardly, and said walls are provided with apertures it) formed therethrough which communicate with the cavity 1 so that spoken sound directed into the apertures ill at one side of the speaking panel will pass through the cavity 1 and emerge there from through the apertures H3 at the opposite side of the speaking panel.

Supported above the sound-conducting means of the improved speaking panel is a sheet of bullet-proof glass M. This sheet of glass has the approximate shape of the upper three-fourths of the marginal element 5, and marginal edge portions of said sheet of glass are interposed between the portion 3 of said marginal element 3 and an opposed portion of the sheet l surrounding the opening 2 therein. At its bottom the sheet of glass is provided with a substantially straight, horizontal edge, and the portion of the sheet of glass adjacent to this bottom edge is extended into the depression provided by the recesses 8 at thetops of the members 4 of the sound-conducting means of the speaking panel.

Arranged in embracing relation with respect to the side marginal edges of the sheet of glass H is a body l2 of felt or other suitable absorbent material. By referring to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the portions of the body of felt l2 which are interposed between the sheet of glass and the portion 3 of the marginal element 3 and between said sheet of glass and the plate I are compressed tightly, while the portion of said body of felt which is interposed between the edge of the glass and the portion 3 of the marginal element 3 is not so tightly compressed. It will be noted also by referring to Fig. 4 that the body of felt i2 is continuous, embracing the side edge portions of the sheet of glass and the edge portions of the members 4 of the sound-conducting means which are extended in continuation of said side edges of the sheet of glass and are interposed between the portion 3 of the marginal element and the plate I. At the straight bottom edge of the sheet of glass another body E3 of felt or other suitable absorbent material is arranged in embracing relation with respect to said sheet of glass and between portions of said glass and the walls of the depression at the tops of the members 4 of the sound-conducting means of the speaking panel, the portions of said body of felt l3 at the opposite sides of the glass being compressed tighter than the portion of said body of felt which is located at the bottom edge of the sheet of glass. It will be noted that the body of felt l3 at its opposite ends contacts with the body of felt H2.

The members t of the sound-conducting means of the improved speaking panel are provided with an opening at which is formed at the extreme lower ends of said members. Preferably parts of said opening M are formed in the opposed members 4, so that when the members 4 are assembled a complete opening is provided at the meeting line of said members, as shown in Fig. 2. During use of the improved speaking panel, disinfecting and deodorizing fluid is poured into the cavity l through the apertures is, and this fluid flows through the opening Hi to the body of felt 62, by which it is absorbed. Through the action of capillary attraction the entire body of felt is saturated with the fluid, and because edge portions of the felt are exposed at the opposite faces of the glass, disinfecting and de-odo-rizing fumes are given off by the saturated felt which maintain the glass in a sanitary condition. Also, disinfecting and de-odorizing fumes pass upwardly through the opening it into the cavity 1 of the sound-conducting means of the structure, whereby said sound-conducting means is maintained sanitary. Due to the fact that the portions of the body of felt l2 at the sides of the sheet of glass and at the sides of the members l are very tightly compressed, too free evaporation of the disinfecting and de-odorizing liquid is prevented. Also, because the portion of the body of felt at the edges of the sheet of glass and at the edges of the members 4 is not so tightly compressed, this portion of the body of felt may readily absorb the disinfecting and de-odorizing fluid and retain a supply thereof. As already stated herein, the body of felt I3 is in contact at its opposite ends with the body of felt i2, and therefore said body of felt l3 will absorb disinfecting and de-odorizing fluid from the body of felt l2. It is obvious that in addition to acting as absorbing means for disinfecting and de-odorizing fluid the bodies of felt l2 and 53 act as cushioning means for the confined edge portions of the sheet of glass.

It frequently happens that it is desirable for officials or witnesses to observe prisoners without 75 the prisoners knowing they are being watched for purposes of identification. I therefore provide my improved speaking panel with observation means l5 which comprises a plate I6 shaped and proportioned to cover the sheet of glass H at the. visitors side of the speaking panel. The plate I6 is suspended from a headed pin [1 extended from the marginal element 3, the shank portion of said pin being of elongated cross-section, as indicated by dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 3, with the greatest cross-sectional dimension of the pin extended vertically. The plate [6 is provided with an extension I6 through which is formed an opening IS, the central portion of said opening being circular and of a size to receive the elongated shank portion of the pin l1, and said opening including a pair of narrow portions extended from opposite sides of the circular center portions of the opening. When the plate I6 is in its operative position, as shown in Fig. 2, the vertically elongated shank portion of the pin I I is disposed in one of the narrow extensions of the opening l8, whereby said plate is locked in such operative position against rotary movement about the pin I1. However, when it is desired to remove the plate I6 from its position at the sheet of glass II, as for instance during visiting hours, the plate may be raised slightly to bring the elongated shank portion of the pin ll in the central circular portion of the opening l8, whereupon the plate may be rotated upwardly about said pin to the position illustrated in Fig. 1. The plate is then moved downwardly slightly so as to cause the shank portion of the elongated pin to be disposed in the other extension of the opening, whereby the plate will be locked in its elevated position.

The plate I 6 includes an outwardly extended, rectangular box portion l9, which is provided with a plurality of plates 28 that are arranged in vertically spaced relation and diverge with respect to each other from front to back of the box portion I9, as shown in Fig. 2. Because of the divergent relation of the plates 2|], a person may look through the spaces between said plates to obtain a clear view of a prisoner in the enclosure at the opposite side of the wall A without the prisoner being able to see the observer. In order to facilitate rotation of the plate l6 about the pin l1, said plate is provided with a suitable grip 2|.

The improved speaking panel structure includes an acoustical hood 22 which is of substantially inverted U-shaped formation, as shown in Fig. 1. The acoustical hood 22 includes a plate 23 which is riveted or otherwise secured to the wall A, and to this plate is secured a correspondingly shaped bar 24. The bar 24 extends outwardly from the plate 23, and secured to this bar is a pair of spaced sheets of steel or other suitable material 25 and 26. The spaced sheets 25 and 26 are of inverted U-shaped formation, and set into the space between the sheets at the outer ends thereof, and suitably secured to said sheets, is an inverted U-shaped bar 21 which closes said space at its outer end. The outer sheet 25 is imperforate while the inner sheet is provided with a number of small apertures 28 formed therethrough, and arranged in the space between said sheets is a suitable acoustical material. At the lower end of the hood 22 a hand bar 29 is provided, and at a point adjacent to the floor a foot rail 39 is arranged, said foot rail being sup ported by brackets 3| secured to the wall A. The hand bar and the foot rail are useful in enabling a person short in stature to attain a position where he may look through the vision opening of the speaking panel and speak into the soundconducting means thereof, such person reaching the desired position by standing on the foot rail and grasping the hand bar.

When the improved device is in use as a speaking panel, the eyes of the persons at opposite sides thereof are alined with the greatest horizontal dimension of the diamond-shaped vision opening, and as a consequence of this each person may obtain complete vision of the others entire face. Also, because of the inclined arrangement of the perforated walls 9 the persons using the speaking panel speak directly into the sound-conducting means of the device without changing the positions of their faces. Furthermore, by providing the acoustical hood 22 sound originating at a speaking panel is controlled and is concentrated at said speaking panel, and sound originating elsewhere is baffled so that persons using one of the improved speaking panels are not annoyed by sounds of conversation originating at other adjacent speaking panels.

I claim:

1. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening of substantially diamond shape, and means for conducting sound from one side of the speaking panel to the opposite side thereof, said sound-conduoting means including means providing a sound-conducting cavity, and apertured walls at opposite sides of the sound-conducting means toward which spoken sound is directed for passage through said sound-conducting cavity, said apertured walls being located immediately adjacent to the lower portion of said vision opening so that spoken sound may be directed toward same without necessity for the speaker to remove his face from the vision opening, and said diamond-shaped vision opening providing for a complete view therethrough of a speakers face as he speaks into one of the apertured walls.

2. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening of substantially diamond shape, and means disposed beneath said vision opening for conducting sound from one side of the speaking panel to the opposite side thereof, said sound-conducting means including means providing a sound-conducting cavity, and

outwardly and downwardly inclined apertured walls at opposite sides of the sound-conducting means toward which spoken sound is directed for passage through said sound-conducting cavity, said apertured walls being located immediately adjacent to the lower portion of said vision opening so that spoken sound may be directed toward same without necessity for the speaker to remove his face from the vision opening, and said diamond-shaped vision opening providing for a complete view therethrough of a speakers face as he speaks into one of the apertured walls.

3. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening, a. sheet of glass covering said vision opening, and means disposed beneath said vision opening for conducting sound from one. side of the speaking panel to the opposite side thereof, said sound-conducting means including means providing a sound-conducting cavity, and outwardly and downwardly inclined apertured walls at opposite sides of the soundconducting means toward which spoken sound is directed for passage through said sound-conducting cavity, said inclined apertured walls being located immediately adjacent to the lower portion of said vision opening so that spoken sound may be directed toward same without necessity for the speaker to remove his face from the vision opening.

4. A speaking panel including a body portion comprising a back plate and a marginal element, said body portion having a vision opening formed therein, sound-conducting means providing a substantially wedge-shaped sound-conducting cavity extended from one to the opposite side of the speaking panel, said sound-conducting means being disposed beneath said vision opening and being provided with a depression at its top, and a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, a marginal portion of said sheet of glass being embraced by said body portion and another marginal portion of said sheet being extended into said depression at the top of said sound-conducting means.

5. A speaking panel including a body portion comprising a back plate and a marginal element, said body portion having a vision opening formed therein, sound-conducting means providing a sound-conducting cavity extended from one to the opposite side of the speaking panel, said sound-conducting means being disposed beneath said vision opening and being provided with a depression at its top, and a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, a marginal portion of said sheet of glass being embraced by said body portion and another marginal portion of said sheet being extended into said depression at the top of said sound-conducting means, said soundconducting means being comprised of a pair of members having portions which are embraced by said body portion.

6. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening formed therethrough, a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, sound-conducting means providing a sound-conducting cavity extended from one to the opposite side of the speaking panel, and an absorbent element adapted for saturation with disinfecting fluid, said absorbent element being exposed to said sound-conducting cavity of said sound-conducting means.

7. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening formed therethrough, a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, sound-conducting means providing a sound-conducting cavity extended from one to the opposite side of the speaking panel, and an absorbent element arranged at the marginal edge of said vision opening and adapted for saturation with disinfecting fluid, said absorbent element being exposed to said sound-conducting cavity of said sound-conducting means.

8. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening formed. therethrough, a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, sound-conducting means providing a sound-conducting cavity extended from one to the opposite side of the speaking panel, and an absorbent element arranged throughout the marginal edge of said vision opening and adapted for saturation with disinfecting fluid, said absorbent element being exposed to said soundconducting cavity of said sound-conducting means.

9. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision openingformed therethrough, a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, sound-conducting means providing a sound-conducting cavity extended from one to the opposite side of the speaking panel, and an absorbent element arranged throughout the marginal edge of said vision opening in embracing relation with respect to marginal portions of said sheet of glass and said sound-conducting means and adapted for saturation with disinfecting fluid, said absorbent element being exposed to said sound-conducting cavity of said soundconducting means.

10. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening, a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, sound-conducting means for conducting sound from one side of the speaking panel to the opposite side thereof, and observation means removably supported at said vision opening and providing for concealed observation from one side of the speaking panel of persons at the opposite side of said speaking panel.

11. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening, a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, sound-conducting means for conducting sound from one side of the speaking panel to the opposite side thereof, and observation means removably supported at said vision opening and providing for concealed observation from one side of the speaking panel of persons at the opposite side of said speaking panel, said observation means comprising an element provided with an opening having spaced, divergent plates arranged at said opening.

12. A speaking panel including a body portion provided with a vision opening, a sheet of glass covering said vision opening, sound-conducting means for conducting sound from one side of the speaking panel to the opposite side thereof, and observation means removably supported at said vision opening and providing for concealed observation from one side of the speaking panel of persons at the opposite side of said speaking panel, said observation means comprising an element provided with an opening having spaced, divergent plates arranged at said opening and including means for maintaining said element in operative and non-operative positions with relation to said vision opening.

13. A speaking panel structure including means providing a vision opening, sound-conducting means located immediately adjacent to the lower portion of said vision opening for conducting sound from one side of the speaking panel to the opposite side thereof, said sound-conducting means including means providing a sound-conducting cavity and apertured walls at opposite sides of the sound-conducting cavity toward which spoken sound may be directed for passage through the sound-conducting cavity without necessity for the speaker to remove his face from the vision opening and acoustical means arranged adjacent to the Vision opening and the soundconducting means of said speaking panel structure, said acoustical means comprising an inverted U-shaped hood embracing the vision opening and sound-conducting means of the speaking panel structure.

MICHAEL J. TRACY. 

